Department for International Development

Syria: Overseas Aid

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the total Department for International Development funding that has been diverted to Islamist jihadist groups in Syria; and whether they intend to set up an inquiry to establish how this happened.

lord bates: DFID has a zero tolerance approach to the diversion of aid funds to extremist groups. Our programmes are designed with a range of safeguards to ensure tight financial controls at each level of the process. All reports of fraud, or diversion are taken seriously and investigated.All organisations that receive funding from DFID are required to provide evidence about the use of funds, including providing audited financial statements. This is monitored as part of our monitoring of programme performance and delivery.

Ministry of Justice

Prisoners: Per Capita Costs

lord marlesford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the average annual cost of holding someone serving a custodial sentence.

lord keen of elie: The average annual overall cost per prisoner in financial year 2016-17 was £35,371. The Overall Costs include the direct establishment costs plus expenditure met at regional or national level. This information is produced on an annual basis and is published after the end of each financial year. Additional information on prison unit costs can be accessed from the Prison and Probation Performance Statistics pages for each financial year at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/prison-performance-statistics-2016-to-2017

Prisoners' Release

lord murphy of torfaen: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve access to release on temporary licence.

lord keen of elie: We will be exploring in the coming months how best to ensure access to ROTL for those who would benefit, within a robust risk assessment framework. We want to maintain improvements made to ROTL recently while allowing governors greater discretion so that prisoners get the skills and training they need.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Palestinians: Health Services

baroness tonge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they intend to takeensure that Palestinian healthcare centres in East Jerusalem are protected and to address delays to ambulances and patients entering the city through checkpoints following President Trump’s decision recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: As the Prime Minister made clear in her statement on 6 December we disagree with the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, and to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital before a final status agreement. We believe it is unhelpful to prospects for peace in the regionWe continue to call on the Israeli Government to ease movement and access restrictions, including those that reduce access to medical care for Palestinians, in the Occupied Palestinian Territories including East Jerusalem. We are clear that medical staff should have the protection that allows them to do their jobs in safety. We regard East Jerusalem as part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT's).

Syria: Overseas Aid

baroness cox: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the suspension of their financial support to the Free Syrian Police, what assessment they have made of the use of funds provided to the armed Syrian opposition; whether those funds are supporting the administration of areas controlled by extremist groups including Hayat Tahrir Ash Sham and Ahrar Ash Sham; and if so, whether they will suspend all such financial support.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: In partnership with other donor countries, Her Majesty's Government provides a range of support to Syrians to help save lives, bolster civil society, counter extremism, promote human rights and accountability, and lay the foundations for a more peaceful future. This financial year, we have allocated over £60 million through the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund (CSSF). Of this £10 million has gone to armed opposition groups, in the form of non-lethal assistance and lifesaving support, helping them protect civilians from the threats of both the Assad regime and extremists. This support to armed groups has not been delivered in areas controlled by extremist groups and is not supporting the administration of such areas.

Religious Freedom

lord alderdice: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to raise the profile of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2018.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​2018 marks the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Throughout the year, we will take opportunities to raise the profile of the UDHR, including Article 18 which enshrines the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). Promoting and defending FoRB is a priority of Her Majesty’s Government’s foreign policy. By pursuing this priority in 2018 we will continue to raise the profile of Article 18

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fly-tipping

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they are taking to assist local authorities to deter fly-tipping.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government is committed to tackling fly-tipping on a number of fronts. In 2016 we gave local authorities the power to issue fixed penalty notices for small scale fly-tipping. We have enhanced the Environment Agency and local authorities’ powers to search and seize vehicles of suspected fly-tippers. It is for local authorities to use the full range of powers available to them.We worked with the Sentencing Council when they strengthened the Sentencing Guidelines for environmental offences in 2014. The maximum penalty on indictment for fly-tipping is imprisonment of up to five years or a potentially unlimited fine. Minister Coffey will shortly be writing to Ministry of Justice Ministers on the matter of sentencing, and we will work with those involved in the court system to ensure sentencing levels act as an appropriate deterrent.As part of our Resource and Waste Strategy we will develop further proposals to tackle fly-tipping. We will facilitate partnership working and intelligence sharing between organisations at a local level, including local authorities, and encourage local authorities and the Environment Agency to investigate incidents on private land.

Smoke Control Areas

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the regulations that prevent the burning of unauthorised fuel in smoke control areas.

lord gardiner of kimble: Our assessment of regulations for smoke control areas is that the powers for councils are sufficient but in some areas, awareness is low. We have recently distributed an advice leaflet on open fires and wood burning stoves to all local authorities for dissemination to householders which includes relevant information on smoke control area requirements.

European Environment Agency

lord whitty: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for future relationships post-Brexit between (1) UK public agencies, and (2) UK industry, and the European Environment Agency.

lord gardiner of kimble: Our future relationship with the EU is still to be determined and is the subject of negotiations. As part of Exit negotiations the Government will discuss with the EU and Member States our future status and arrangements with regard to EU bodies, including the European Environment Agency.

European Chemicals Agency

lord whitty: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have for future relationships post-Brexit between (1) UK public agencies, and (2) UK industry, and the European Chemicals Agency.

lord gardiner of kimble: We are working to ensure a smooth transition for the chemical industry as we leave the EU. As part of the exit negotiations, the Government will discuss with the EU and Member States how best to continue cooperation in the field of chemicals regulation in the best interests of both the UK and the EU. We want to secure a deep and special partnership with the EU, including in relation to the chemicals sector. Our priority is to maintain an effective regulatory system for the management and control of chemicals to safeguard human health and the environment, respond to emerging risks, and allow trade with the EU that is as frictionless as possible.

Trees

lord patten: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their estimate of the area of England that is likely to be covered by trees and woodland in 2020; and how this compares with(1)Northern Ireland, (2) Scotland, and (3) Wales.

lord gardiner of kimble: We have not made an estimate of tree cover in 2020. The Forestry Commission collects and publishes information on tree and woodland cover. The most recent survey results, combining the National Forest Inventory and the assessment of Tree Cover Outside Woodland in Great Britain concluded that tree canopy cover is 15% in England, 19% in Scotland and 19% in Wales. Comparable statistics are not available for Northern Ireland. These percentages are unlikely to be significantly different by 2020.